73 Civilians Injured as Houthis Target Saudi Arabia in Most Dangerous Countries and Yemeni Forces Advance
Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have injured 73 civilians including women and children in most dangerous countries, prompting Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces to advance against the group on multiple frontlines in Yemen.
Houthi Attacks Strike Saudi Cities
Houthi militias targeted civilian and economic sites in Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, resulting in 73 injuries according to Saudi officials. [1] Saudi Arabia's coalition spokesman declared the attacks a dangerous escalation and violation of sovereignty, vowing operational measures to deter the Houthis. [1] Major General Turki Al-Maliki, the official spokesman for the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen forces, stated that the Houthis made attempts to target Saudi Arabia, its national assets, its citizens, and residents on its territory. [1] The Saudi Press Agency reported that Maliki said the reckless terrorist attacks by the Houthi militias, the latest of which targeted civilian and economic sites in the cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, resulted in the injury of 73 civilians, including women and children. [1] Maliki added that these attacks constitute a blatant violation of the Kingdom's sovereignty and a direct threat to the security and safety of its citizens and residents on its territory. [1] The coalition general noted that these heinous and unjustified attacks committed by the terrorist Houthi militias deliberately harm Saudi Arabia's national assets, facilities, and civilian objects, and confirm their extremist criminal behavior that rejects achieving peace and stability in Yemen and its Arab and Islamic neighbors. [1] He affirmed that the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition will take all necessary operational measures to deter these terrorist militias and confront their hostile approach with all firmness, in defense of the Kingdom's sovereignty, preservation of its national capabilities, and protection of the safety of its citizens and residents on its territory. [1] Media in Saudi Arabia also reported on the casualties from the attacks, with Arab News noting that Houthi attacks have left more than 70 people injured, including women and children, in various towns and cities across Saudi Arabia. [1]
Yemeni Government Forces Advance
Yemeni government forces backed by Saudi Arabia reported advances against Houthis dug in across central mountainous areas, amid a complex military landscape with divided frontlines. [1] Over the last day, there have been numerous reports about advances in Yemen by government forces backed by Saudi Arabia as they seek to liberate areas from the Houthis. [1] The Houthis are dug in throughout the hill country of Yemen, essentially dominating the middle of the country’s western region. [1] The challenge in Yemen is that the various forces fighting the Houthis are divided geographically, with some forces near Saudi Arabia in Jawf and others fighting near Taiz. [1] Because the Houthis control a huge central, mountainous area, the coalition members are divided along various frontlines, and with internal lines the Houthis can easily shift forces from one sector to another. [1] This creates a complex military challenge, and it remains to be seen if Riyadh can accomplish today what it has been unable to do since 2015. [1] Riyadh has been the major leader of the coalition against the Houthis since it intervened in Yemen in 2015. [1]
Israeli Ministers Advocate Gaza Depopulation
Far-right Israeli ministers publicly advocated for the removal of Palestinians from Gaza, with Defence Minister Katz calling it the only solution and National Security Minister Ben-Gvir outlining a seven-year voluntary emigration plan. [3] Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz told a conference that removing Palestinians from Gaza is the only solution, saying Israel is prepared to do it by sea, by air and by every way possible, and that US President Donald Trump has merely frozen not cancelled his support for the idea. [3] National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir unveiled a seven-year plan, branded Disengagement 710, to remove Gaza’s roughly two million residents through what he called voluntary emigration. [3] Ben-Gvir added that if re-elected he would establish a Migration Ministry to expel Palestinians. [3] The US State Department said it does not support any plan or proposal for the forced displacement, expulsion, or mandatory transfer of the population of Gaza but stopped short of directly condemning Katz or Ben-Gvir. [3]
Rising Gaza Death Toll and Humanitarian Crisis
Gaza’s death toll has continued climbing through near-daily strikes. [3] An Israeli special forces raid near Gaza City’s American hospital killed at least four Palestinians, including two children and a woman. [3] A drone strike killed a child in Jabalia refugee camp, the same day an attack on a tent in Khan Younis killed one person. [3] Two Palestinians, including a 13-year-old, were shot dead near Beit Lahia after Israel said they had crossed into an Israeli-controlled area, while a separate drone strike killed a man near a church compound in Gaza City’s Remal neighbourhood. [3] On Sunday alone Israel attacked near a school in Gaza City, wounding several, and a separate drone strike on a car near Gaza City’s Hamid intersection killed Youssef Akila and his young daughter Wafaa. [3] Before dawn on Monday at least five more Palestinians in Gaza were killed including three-year-old Saadi Ghalia, who was killed when an artillery shell struck a school in Deir el-Balah sheltering displaced people. [3] By Monday the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that 73,658 people have been killed and 174,622 wounded since October 2023, after 160 additional deaths were certified and added to the casualty figures. [3] Of those more than 1,340 have been killed since the October 2025 Israeli-Hamas ceasefire. [3] Families in northern Gaza held funerals on Sunday for around 100 people, including 60 children, whose remains were pulled from the rubble of Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood. [3] Gaza civil defence chief Raed al-Dahshan told Al Jazeera his teams could recover an estimated 8,000 more bodies still under the rubble within 90 days if given proper heavy equipment. [3] The World Health Organization warned that water contamination in Gaza has nearly tripled since January. [3] The Palestinian Water Authority reported all five of Gaza’s wastewater plants have shut down entirely, with roughly 55,000 cubic metres of untreated sewage discharged daily. [3]
West Bank Raids, Demolitions and Settler Violence
In parallel, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian in a West Bank raid in Aqraba and imposed a curfew during an operation near occupied East Jerusalem. [2] [4] Israeli forces besieged a house in Aqraba town and shelled it, causing parts of the building to collapse. [2] In the community of Khirbet al-Tabban in Masafer Yatta, demolitions were absolute, demolishing all 12 homes and leaving 70 people, including 30 children, homeless. [3] Israeli forces also destroyed four water wells and several greenhouses in nearby Beit Ummar in Hebron in the occupied West Bank, causing an estimated $60,000 in losses, and demolished a home in Nahalin in Bethlehem governorate. [3] Around Jenin, the bulldozing of hundreds of farmers’ trees continued along the Arraba-Yabad and Jenin-Nablus roads. [3] In occupied East Jerusalem’s al-Bustan neighbourhood, municipal bulldozers demolished a four-apartment building, the 60th demolition there since October 2023. [3] On Monday morning another home was demolished in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Beit Hanina. [3] Settlers and soldiers raided the village of al-Mughayyir on the evening of Wednesday after accusing residents of stealing livestock, with snipers taking rooftop positions and opening fire as residents tried to stop settlers stealing sheep, killing Khalil Abu Alia, 16, and Mohammad Nassan, 19. [3] Wafa also reported late on Sunday that Israeli settlers killed Omar Tubasi, 20, and injured three people when they raided and opened fire on the village of Hajja, east of Qalqilya governorate in the occupied West Bank. [3] Elsewhere, settlers stormed Umm al-Khair in the South Hebron Hills on Friday, injuring a child. [3] In Turmus Ayya north of Ramallah, a settler wearing a T-shirt bearing the logo of the outlawed Kach movement was filmed atop a Palestinian home declaring this land is Jewish. [3] In Qusra, south of Nablus, a month-long siege of three homes continued. [3] In East Jerusalem’s Old City, Israeli police shot and killed Ibrahim al-Hendi, 33, from Beit Hanina, near Damascus Gate on Friday, claiming he had tried to stab an officer. [3]
Russian Assaults Continue on Ukrainian Fronts in Most Dangerous Countries
A total of 244 combat clashes have occurred on the battlefield over the past day, with the hottest situation remaining on the Pokrovsk front, which saw almost 40 Russian attacks. [5] On the North Slobozhanshchyna front and in the operational zone in Russia's Kursk Oblast, seven Russian assaults were recorded. [5] The Russians conducted 107 strikes on Ukrainian positions and settlements, one of them from multiple-launch rocket systems, and also carried out four airstrikes, dropping 12 guided bombs. [5] On the South Slobozhanshchyna front, Ukrainian forces repelled 13 Russian attacks. [5] On the Kupiansk front, the Russians attempted to improve their positions four times. [5] On the Lyman front, Russian attempts to breach Ukrainian defences were repelled, with the Russians conducting nine attacks near the settlements of Novoiehorivka, Novoselivka, Stavky, Torske, Zarichne and Lyman. [5] On the Sloviansk front, the Russians conducted two offensive actions near the village of Kryva Luka. [5] On the Kramatorsk front, the Russians conducted one attack towards the village of Yurivka. [5] On the Kostiantynivka front, 12 Russian attacks were recorded. [5] On the Pokrovsk front, the Russians conducted 39 attacks, attempting to advance near the settlements of Vodianske, Novyi Donbas, Bilytske, Shevchenko, Novohryshyne, Dobropillia, Matiashivske, Myrne, Kotlyne, Novomykolaivka, Biliakivka, Serhiivka, Udachne, Molodetske and Novopidhodne. [5] On the Huliaipole front, the Russians conducted nine attacks on Ukrainian positions. [5] On the Orikhiv front, Ukrainian forces stopped an attempt by the Russians to advance towards the village of Pavlivka. [5]
What to watch next: The next moves will be up to Saudi Arabia and the Yemen government as Riyadh considers its response to the Houthi attacks, while recovery of bodies continues in Gaza alongside near-daily strikes and Russian forces maintain pressure on multiple Ukrainian fronts including 39 attacks on the Pokrovsk sector.
